Thursday, August 20, 2009

A Chinese citizen accused of illegally importing honey to the United States -- including one shipment tainted with antibiotics -- pleaded guilty Wednesday in U.S. District Court at Seattle.

Boa Zhong Zhang was accused of rerouting shipments of Chinese honey through the Philippines to avoid importation taxes, a U.S. Department of Justice spokeswoman said in a statement. In doing so, Zhang avoided paying about $3.3 million in tariffs.

Federal prosecutors assert that Zhang, a 20-year employee of a Chinese bee products company, conspired with Bellevue honey importer Chung Po Liu to import 21 honey shipments. The honey was first shipped from China to the Philippines or Thailand, where it was re-labeled and sent on to the United States…